An “Escher Moment” for BYOD

So here I am, at a customer event in San Francisco, at an outdoor restaurant (yes, I’m cold). Today we’ve been talking a lot about mobility – mobile devices (around 3 per person here today), how to extend access to corporate resources to employees or students or patients wherever they connect, how to manage BYOD. No one is questioning whether this needs to happen, we have all moved on to HOW to make it happen, how to manage it, how to make it easy for users.

I’ve brought along my personal iPhone on 4G that I also use for work, and I’ve logged in to Cisco Jabber to stay connected while away from my laptop. I’m just wondering if my manager has answered a couple of key questions for me when my phone buzzes in my pocket. She is IM’ing on Jabber. Where is she? Well, you wouldn’t know it, but she is on a flight from San Francisco to New York. Her company-owned laptop is connected using in-flight Wi-Fi, and she’s using WebEx Connect on her laptop.

What’s it called when a mirror reflects a mirror with infinite reflections, or a person holds a picture of themselves holding a picture? That’s what this is — we are doing the same thing that we’re talking about. We are working outside on the ground using 4G, and inside in the air using Wi-Fi, talking about mobility. We are linked to corporate email and UC (Unified Communications) tools, and using AnyConnect VPN to access more sensitive information, regardless who owns the device, or whether it’s Windows or iOS or Andriod, or which access network or physical location. In the sky or earth-bound city walker – we’re connected. And talking about it.

What’s the most outlandish connection you’ve had? Any mobility Escher moments of your own? Share with us on Twitter or Facebook.

1 Comments.

My first real WOW mobility moment was in 2004, when I answered an incoming call on my mobile phone. The voice on the other end was from a long-lost friend I had met ten years earlier. She was calling me from Sicily to let me know that she was getting married. I realized at that moment that if you truly want to get a hold of someone, you can and will find them. I'm glad I had a mobile phone on me, and that I answered the call.

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